Travis_J_Smith’s #CBR5 Review #158: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison

First, let’s discuss the pros of Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum. Besides his own graphic novel, Cages, and his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on the movie MirrorMask, Dave McKean’s illustration style has never been more perfectly suited for a project. Arkham Asylum is a madhouse, and McKean’s seemingly haphazard art reflects that. Likewise, the story, though maddeningly brief, is just as dream/nightmare-like. Readers could extract any number of deeper meanings from what takes place during Batman’s tour through the facilities he himself has populated.

In another sense, however, these are also its failings.

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #90: Batman Incorporated by Grant Morrison and various artists

Following on from the events of Batman R.I.P, Final Crisis, Batman and Robin and The Return of Bruce Wayne, this trade paperback collects a lot of stories setting up the new and international Batman Incorporated. Bruce Wayne has gone public as the financier of Batman. He wants to make sure that anywhere there is crime, there will be a Batman, or someone closely linked to him. Batman and his associates travel the globe to recruit new members for their organisation, while fighting the emerging crime syndicate known as Leviathan.

Complete review on my blog.

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #89: Absolute All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

I’m going to start with a confession. I didn’t use to like Superman much. I thought he was a goody two-shoes, a bit wet, and just not as interesting as Batman, or as cool as Wonder Woman, the other two big superheroes of the DC Universe. My husband always told me I was wrong, and while I like the 1978 film with Christopher Reeve, I was just never convinced that he was worth my while. Grant Morrison changed my mind about that. In his twelve issue mini-series, which did rather better than Frank Millar’s spectacular train-wreck All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (for one thing, it got completed), Morrison tells an utterly compelling story, showing why Superman is one of the ultimate superheroes, and why, while he might not be as cool and gritty as Bruce Wayne, Kal El is a much more admirable character.

Warning! There will be certain spoilers for the new film Man of Steel in this review. If you haven’t seen it (do yourself a favour, and just don’t – it’s NOT a Superman story, and it’s a long, boring and just really rather depressing film), you may want to avoid this review. You can go read All-Star Superman instead. It’s amazing and captures exactly who Superman is and why he is so great.

Full review on my blog.